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Repetto Stal’in
(#248)

 

Front View: Closed Rear View: Closed
Front View: Closed Rear View: Closed
 
Front View: Open for Rigging Rear View: Open for Rigging
Front View: Open for Rigging Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired my Repetto Stal’in from Expé-Spelemat in 2008.

Like most handleless eccentric cam ascenders, the Stal’in ascender is right-handed. This ascender is 110 mm. tall, 74 mm. wide, 28 mm. thick, and weighs 154 g.

Cam faceThe ascender shell is subtriangular red anodized shape bent from 4.0 mm. aluminum sheet. The rope channel is formed by bending the left side of the ascender into a U. The rope channel is 16.5 mm. wide. The main sling attachment point is an 18.8 mm. circular hole located below the cam and to the right of the rope channel. There is an upper attachment point above the cam, passing through both sides of the rope channel. The upper opening is pear shaped, 18.6 mm. high by 15.8 mm. wide. The right side of the shell is bent on an inclined axis to form another U. A hole drilled through both sides of the U accepts a semi-tubular rivet. The cam and cam spring are mounted on this rivet. The head of the rivet is on the front while the roll sits into a stamped depression on the back of the shell. The pivot is centered 50 mm. from the inside of the rope channel. There is a stamped cam stop near the cam pivot.

This ascender uses a standard Climbing Technology cam found on many of their handled and handleless eccentric cam ascenders. The cam is a plated skeletonized steel casting. The cam radius, measured from the pivot, increases from 38 to 57 mm. over an angle of 40°, giving a 31° cam angle. The cam has number of small conical teeth, all of which have their axes approximately parallel to the lower surface of the cam. The tooth pattern is (3.2.4)(1H1.2)^3(3.2), where the "H" stands for a 4 mm. wide, 6 mm. wide inverted subtriangular hole.

A spring-loaded manual safety is mounted on an axle riveted to the center of the cam. The normal action of the spring holds the safety against the cam. When the cam is opened, the shell interferes with the safety tab, thus preventing opening the cam. If the safety is moved away from the cam (opposing the spring), the tab will clear the shell and the cam will open. At full open the safety can be released and the spring will hold the arm against the back of the shell, locking the cam open.

The front of the ascender has a printed rigging illustration and "ROPE 8<Ø<13 mm." The rear is printed with "0107," "Made in EEC," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "REPETTO," "CE0639," "EN 567," "Patented," the UIAA logo, an absolutely unintelligible scribble that may be the REPETTO logo (or a Mayan head glyph?), and "Red Block." The cam has "L2" cast into it, behind the safety. Actually, the icon is a profile of a man’s face.

Comments

The instruction sheet that came with the Stal’in showed the closely related Repetto Cirano; however, the Stal’in is not a chest ascender. Of course, "C.T." refers to Climbing Technology Ltd. of Cisano Bergamasco, Italy, the maker of both devices.

The cam and cam safety are mirror images of those on the Advanced Base Camp, Version B. For some reason, the cam on the Stal’in does not operate as smoothly as the one on the Advanced Base Camp. Mine has a gritty feel to it. Part of this is due to the cam being able to drag on the flat rear surface of the shell, while the Advanced Base Camp chest ascender shell bends away from the cam. This does not interfere with operations in any meaningful way.

The small pin on the cam safety performs an interesting function: pushing down on the larger pin causes the safety tab to lever the cam open, but not enough to let the rope free. This provides an alternate way to "thumb" the ascender. The cam drags on the back of the shell when using this method.

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